Sunrise over the Waters
by Sparkly Lethifold
Summary: A descendant of Rapunzel goes to the Wizarding world, accidentally leaving her world behind after losing everything.
1. Kidnapped?

_**Prologue **_

Scarlett, Ysabella, and Ariel had been almost silent on the cart, probably due to shock. They had never been kidnapped before. In the middle of the night one of their maids, a small mousy-haired girl with matching eyes, had come to fetch them.

"Yah Majesties, ye must come now!" she whispered urgently, her hair flying out in little wisps away from her usually tight bun. "There is a cart waiting ta take ya outside the gard'n gate."

"It can't be morning already," moaned Ariel as she tiredly clambered out of bed and pulled on her shoes, "and where are going anyway?"

"Rebels are congregating in the Eastern Prov'nce. We fear that they might attack the palace."

"But why are we going in the middle of the night? Why not in the morning?"

The maid sighed, then responded,"Ther majesties think the rebels might have infiltrated the palace. We can't let 'em see us going"

"Are Mommy and Daddy coming too?" asked Ysabella sleepily.

"Ther comin' in a week. They have to finish up some business here 'fore they can go. Now hush. We don't want the rebels to hear us."

They crept silently through the still hallways of the dark palace and then into the darker still garden. When they finally reached the garden gate, the maid whispered," Get into the cart. If you need an' thing, the Steve, the drivah, will help yah."

"Children, my name is Eliza Gothel. You my call me Aunt Gothel"

Eliza Gothel was a tall, imposing woman, with long black curls framing an ivory face. The light from the now setting sun emphasized her high cheek bones and the small, hard set of her mouth as she looked down on the children.

Scarlett cocked her head to the side, and then shook her head so vigorously that strands of golden hair flew up to cover her face.

"I don't like that name." she commented.

At once Gothel lost her severe composure and became flustered, "You don't? Why not?"

"I miss Mommy," Ysabella suddenly piped, up her dark green eyes sad.

"I miss Daddy more" Scarlett answered, ignoring Gothel's question.

"I miss Daddy too, but I still miss Mommy. I want to go home." Ysabella said, now staring out of the window, and into the little mountain valley below. Ariel, who up to this point had been surveying the lavishly furnished tower room, now turned her head sharply towards Gothel.

Gothel sighed, and started pacing around the room, not looking at the three girls, then said sadly, "Your home no longer exists."

"Yes, it does. And I don't like you." Ariel shot back, her bright red hair reflecting the light of the sun streaming through the window.

"I want to go home. And I miss my Mommy." Ysabella added plaintively.

"She's dead, sweetie. They're both dead." Gothel responded, looking away from the three shocked faces, staring, horror-struck, up at her.

"Daddy's dead?" Scarlett asked, softly her eyes showing not sadness, but puzzlement, as if she couldn't wrap her mind around the idea.

"No, he isn't. Don't let her fool you. They're not dead. They can't be." Ariel responded sharply.

There was silence for many long moments, as the sun slipped below the mountains, and they tried to absorb the news.

Finally, decision showed on Ysabella's face. "I want to go home," she said clearly.

"So do I," piped Scarlett.

"I told you, home doesn't exist anymore, and your parents are dead. Home was burned by the eastern rebels." Gothel finally cried, exasperated. Who knew dealing with children could be so much _work_!

Three accusing faces stared up at her.

"No, you didn't. You just said home didn't exist anymore." Scarlett said quietly, all the cheeriness and happiness gone from her voice, and replaced by something that sounded, almost, like _anger._ It wasn't fiery, like Ariel's temper, just cold. And somehow, it seemed far more dangerous.

"You're parents were killed in the fighting that ensued. I'm sorry." Gothel answered, not looking at Scarlett, and instead focusing on Ysabella. That didn't help much, as she was looking at her new guardian haughtily, as if Gothel was scum that shouldn't be allowed to live. It was truly amazing that a six-year-old could manage to pull that look off.

Ariel stood up, "That's impossible. And you aren't sorry! You pretend to be, but you're not!"

How is it that these children can see straight through me! marveled Gothel, Do they have magic that let's them see into my soul or something! but out loud she just said, "I _am_ sorry."

"I miss Mommy." Ysabella said, glaring at Gothel, supremely disdainful and aloof.

Gothel thought desperately, Why are these children blaming me for their loss? They have no reason to think I have anything to do with it! How did my family deal with their ancestor's? Maybe…. "… I'm sorry, how impolite of me. Would you like to have dinner?"

"But I don't want dinner." Scarlett whined balefully, her icy hate gone in an instant.

Ahhhh, so _that's _how they dealt with them. Only Ariel didn't get distracted by the change of topic. She crossed her arms and glared. I hate eight year olds, she thought suddenly, they see through all my ploys. Granted, Ariel is the only eight year old I know. Hmmmm….

"I want dessert." pouted Ysabella, losing her composure.

Thank goodness that the twins had such short attention spans, thought Gothel. Maybe all six year olds were like that. "You have to have dinner before you have dessert."

"Why?"

"That's just the way things work here," Gothel said firmly, "Dinner comes before dessert."

Scarlett thought for a second, and shook her head, "No."

"What?" Gothel replied, replied, surprised, "Why not?"

"I want dessert."

Gothel thought for a second, but then, inspiration struck, "But the dessert faeries can't come until the dinner gnomes go away."

That stopped Scarlett for a second. She ran over to the window to conference with Ysabella. They whispered for a few seconds, glancing over frequently and giggling, and then ran back to Gothel.

Scarlett took a deep breath, and then spoke, "We've decided two things. The first is that we don't like your name. We've decided to call you Auntie Thela instead."

That caught Gothel off guard, "Why Auntie Thela?"

This time it was Ysabella who spoke up, "It's a nickname for Gothel. We made it up _just _for you!"

"I'm touched. What's the second thing?"

Scarlett smiled, and said, "We're going to make sure that the dinner gnomes never come."

Ysabella had walked towards the door to the stairs, and opened it, when Gothel said, "I'm not sure that it works that way…"

Her protest was cut off by Ysabella, green eyes sparkling mischievously, "Don't worry Auntie Thela, we'll make it work."

Giggling happily, the twins, followed by Ariel, left the room, leaving Eliza Gothel staring at the door through which they had left.

She sent a question to the gods, or to the fae-in case one of them did happen to exist. "How am I going to deal with them?" she whispered, desperate as a human on a kelpie, running out of breath.

However, to this, the stars held no answer, and all she heard was the whistling of the wind.

"I knew they didn't exist."

"How big _is _this place?" whispered Scarlett. They had searched what seemed like a hundred floors to find the kitchen. Needless to say, they still hadn't found it yet.

Ysabella shivered, "What I don't like is that I don't know how it's lit. I haven't seen a single candle or torch since we arrived. But everything is perfectly well lit."

The next door that they came to was locked. They passed it by, and went into a storage room; this one filled the fine cloth that made up Gothel's clothing, and the draperies. Ariel spoke up for the first time, "I don't trust Gothel. You two aren't old enough to have gotten to it in our history class yet, but Madame Kennari told me that an old woman called Gothel kidnapped the king and queen's only child, a girl named Rapunzel-"

"That's a funny name," interrupted Ysabella, giggling.

As they entered another storage room, this one full with hair brushes, Scarlett asked, "Why does Auntie Thela need so many brushes?"

They peeked into a room filled with unworked clay, and then descended another floor. Ariel continued, "Anyway_,_ she kept the girl in a tower until she got rescued 18 years later. We're descended from that same girl. What if our Gothel is descended from the witch Gothel? What if she kidnapped us to get revenge on our family for Rapunzel escaping?"

"What if you're just paranoid? I like Auntie Thela," argued Ysabella, "and anyway, why did she kidnap Rapunzel in the first place? Maybe she was just lost in the woods and Gothel saved her. You don't know."

Ariel tugged at a locked door and then sighed. "She was a baby when she kidnapped. I don't know why she was kidnapped. Maybe she just wanted a child. I don't know."

Ysabella smirked smugly, and tried the next door. It was full with bags of flour, and Scarlett noted, "The kitchen must be close. No one would want to cart flour 10 floors."

Ariel nodded, and they descended to the next floor. Here there was merely one door, and Ysabella opened it. It was the kitchen. They walked over to the table and were silent for a few seconds. Finally, Ysabella asked, "What are we going to say?"

Scarlett cocked her head, and then nodded. "What about 'Dinner Gnomes GO AWAY!'?"

Ysabella grinned mischievously, and nodded.

Gothel walked down to kitchen to make dinner. She figured that the children must be hungry by now, even if _said_ they didn't want dinner. She would make these children learn to obey her. They would learn that dinner _had_ to come before dessert. Vegetable soup might be nice…

She paused. It felt like the tower was shaking slightly, and there was shouting below her. But that, of course, was impossible. The tower was so precariously balanced, due to its great height, that enchantments had been placed on it to keep it from toppling over or moving at all. She herself had laid down the last layer of magic. The only thing she could possibly be feeling was vibrations in her magic. But that was also impossible, unless-

She ran as fast as she could, flying down the steps, the sounds steadily increasing. When she reached the kitchen she burst through the door, hair flying in a halo around her head. She was greeted by the sight of the three girls marching around the table singing, or in the twins' case, chanting, "Dinner gnomes go away!"

Every three steps they would all spin in a circle, and the chant was interdispersed with giggles and petty squabbling.

Gothel felt rather faint. "Um, children?" she asked tentatively, "Does your hair usually glow when you, er, chant?"

Scarlett's hair had been glowing with a golden light, which now faded. "Yup, and it does things too! If I want my work for Madame Kennari to be done, but I don't know how to do it, I can sing to it, and it does itself!"

The bronze glow faded from Ariel's hair as she stopped chanting to make frantic shushing noises at Scarlett. Ysabella resolutely kept chanting, the silver light emanating from her raven hair only getting stronger. Scarlett shrugged at Ariel and began chanting again.

"I still don't trust you," Ariel stated, glaring at Gothel.

"I know."


	2. Short Happiness

_**Two Years Later**_

"Auntie Thela! I can't find Scarlett _anywhere_! I haven't seen her since breakfast, and we were going to climbing today! Can you help me think up a tracking spell?"

Thela considered for a few seconds, then smiled. "Can you get the arrow pendants from the third room on the 58th floor down?" she asked. Ysabella nodded, and ran to find it. She took a sip of moonflower tea, and marveled at how much the girls had grown up in 2 years. Ariel no longer hated her, and now gave her a modicum of trust. The twins were now highly advanced in their magical studies, and kept their heads cool in emergencies. The children were rarely homesick, and kept themselves busy. They were wonderful cooks, mediocre at sewing, and terrible with clay. And although they could never be scribes, they could both read and write, rarities in this time. After the libraries had been burned in the Great Invasion, few were literate, and books cost a small fortune. Gothel's family had owned many before the Invasion, so she owned 23 books, her pride and joy.

The children, if she died, could survive out in the world. But Gothel wanted more. She wanted them to be able to control their own lives, their own destinies, the way she had never been able to. She wanted them to be more than pawns, caught in the power games of the royal families. If they were to become queens somehow, it would be on their own terms.

"I've got the pendants, Auntie! What do I do with it?" queried Ysabella.

"Charm the blue pendant to point towards the tower, and the red to point towards Scarlett. You should probably use long notes, so that the power stays."

"_Point little arrow,_

_Lead me home._

_Through woods,_

_On seas,_

_O'er mountains,_

_Lead me on towards home."_

Her voice, through the years, and use of magic, had grown sweet and melodious, a low soprano in tone. The silvery glow now extended beyond her long braid, and twined around her body, and flowed into the glass pendant, filling it with magic. After that was done, Thela covered it with a coat of her magic, a shining violet color, sealing it in.

Ysabella sang again, a slightly different melody,

"_Little arrow,_

_Point towards my sister,_

_My twin,_

_Show where she is,_

_Wheth'r on plains,_

_Lakes,_

_Or flying through sky,_

_Tell me where she is."_


	3. Falling

**I finally figured out how to do this! (Don't you **_**dare **_**laugh at me!) Anyways…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction. I'd have much better things to do. (On the other hand, who knows what J.K. Rowling does with her time.**

_**Yet Another Two Years Later**_

Scarlett climbed the stairs to get to the top of the tower. Why did there have to be so many of them? That was the problem with the tower, she decided. If it was spread out horizontally, it would be far easier to walk from place to place. Finally, she reached the top of tower. Now all she had to do was climb out of tower, and pull herself up to the very tip, and then she would be out of the magical haze that covered most of the valley. For the most part, it was helpful, supporting the tower, giving extra power to potions, and so on. However, it inhibited the range of the magic if you were trying to extend it beyond the valley. She took up deep breath, and leaned out. Her hand gripped the ebon frame as she leveraged herself out. She glanced down. That was a mistake. The ground seemed so far away from up here. She was about to give up on the whole endeavor, when she thought of Ysabella. If it was Ysabella up here instead of her, she wouldn't give up. Ysabella would keep climbing. Ysabella would be able to call up some rain easily. She should try to be more like her twin.

Scarlett grasped the gray slate rim and pulled herself up. She scrambled up one hand after another grabbing the hard stone, and clutching tightly at it. She took a hand off, but slipped an inch, and grasped blindly at the turret. She felt stone, yes, but also-

She glanced up at her hand. There was a spider, clicking its pincers, looking straight back at her. She shrieked, and let go of the tower with that hand, but lost her balance. Then she was falling through the air, nothing between her and the ground. Desperate, she used her only resource - her voice.

"_Slow my fall,_

_Let me not die._

_Cushion the impact,_

_May I live._

_Slow my fall,_

_Let me not die._

_Cushion the impact,_

_May I live._

_Slow my fall,_

_Let me-"_

The ground hit her, and all she could see was black, as the world disappeared, and darkness closed in.

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	4. Healing

**Merry Christmas!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction. I'd have much better things to do. (On the other hand, who knows what J.K. Rowling does with her time?)**

Ysabella, Thela, and Ariel stood around Scarlett's crumpled form. Ariel had seen her falling off the roof, and immediately ran to fetch the rest of the family. They had carried her up into her bedroom, which, thankfully was only on the third floor. It was Ysabella who asked the crucial question.

"Is Scarlett going to be alright?" she asked, green eyes filled with worry about her twin.

Thela paused for a second, then sighed. "I really don't know. She might recover quickly, or she might, well, um -"

"Could she die?" interrupted Ariel. Seeing her sister falling, either singing for salvation or screaming, had deeply worried her.

Thela's shoulders sagged. "Yes. She could."

"Can't you heal her?" asked Ysabella.

"I never learned how to heal. I thought that I would never need to use it," Thela confess. Then, a spark returned to her eyes, "Maybe you two might be able to heal her. Your magic is much more versatile than mine."

Ysabella smiled, a dark half smile, and began to sing.

_Bind to life,_

_Keep from death._

_Do as magic will,_

_Keep her near me._

_Life is precious,_

_Let her's not slip away._

_Fear not the sleep,_

_But go not too soon._

_A candle in the wind,_

_Flickers as it will._

_But it shall not die_

_Till the wick has burned out._

_So hear my song,_

_Flower in the meadow,_

_Bird in the sky,_

_Save my sister_

_If not can I._

**xxx Xine ohp sreat. xxx**

Thela watched in fascination as Ysabella sang. Instead of drawing on her own magical abilities, she was using her power as a channel, funneling power from every thing in the valley. The power moved in sync, flowing around Ysa like water going down a drain. She then was pushing all of it into Scarlett. It was a spiraling torrent, the immense power of it all threatening to overwhelm her, but somehow, Ysa kept control. She couldn't help her foster-niece. Their magic was so different, it was alien to her. There was now only one person that could help either of the twins. Ariel could stop the flow of magic, then help her sister through less powerful, but less draining or dangerous, magic.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The bronze glow of Ariel's magic wove around her sister's sleeping form, not all, but a steady stream of it penetrating her sister's shields against outside magic. She sang not only of healing and recovery, but of the osmosis of magic through anti-magic boundaries. The longer she sang, the stronger the flow of magic became. Hours passed. But as the pink of the streaks of an almost rising sun touched the horizon, she realized that Scarlett was no longer at an immediate risk of slipping through the door of Death. She changed her song.

_Heal the bones,_

_Reknit the muscles,_

_Repair the flesh,_

_Let Scarlett heal._

_Undo the hurt,_

_Bring back the health._

_Heal the body,_

_Heal my sister."_

xxxxxxxxx

The sun rose over the valley, a valley filled with three sisters, and a foster aunt. One unconscious, another asleep, one singing for healing, and the last poring over her potion recipe book, looking for something to help her ailing niece. Finally, Thela decided to go and check in on the girls. She swept down to the third floor, and walked into Scarlett's bedroom. Ysabella was curled up in ball on the large blue armchair in the corner, while Ariel was still resolutely singing to her sister, exhausted, but determined to go on.

"Can I check on her condition?" asked Thela, looking sadly at her adopted niece.

Ariel nodded, and continued singing. Thela knelt at the edge of the bed, and let her power wash over Scarlett. It twined around her bones, swirled through her blood stream, and wove through her muscles. Tentatively, Thela prodded her magic towards Scarlett's brain, afraid of what she would find. Often times, after suffering such traumatic accidents, people forgot who they were, and their family, or went insane.

"I think that physically, she's well healed now. You girls did a wonderful job. However," she paused, and frowned, seeming reluctant to go on, "I think that Scarlett has extensive brain damage, which is why she isn't waking up. That we have to leave for her body to fix."

While Thela had been speaking to Ariel, Ysabella had woken up. Now she spoke.

"Why can't we fix her? We made her body healthy again," asked Ysabella angrily, "so we heal her mind."

Thela stood up, and began pacing around the room, not meeting either girl's gaze. She should have realized that they would want to know this. Finally, she spoke quietly, so softly, that, had all not been so silent, the sound would have been brushed off as the wind, flying around the tower. As it was, the girls could barely make out the all-important words.

"Healing minds with magic is very dangerous. By doing so you may lose your hope of ever getting Scarlett back. She will wake up, completely healed, but she might be a different person, perhaps, if you're lucky, with the same memories, but not the same personality. The best thing we can do is to put her into a suspended animation and let her get better by herself."

Ariel burst out crying, and ran out of the room. Ysabella simply stared at the spot where Ariel had been mere moments before, her dark green eyes wide with shock.

"I'm sorry."

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	5. Fleeing from Memories

**Merry Christmas! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction. I'd have much better things to do. (On the other hand, who knows what J.K. Rowling does with her time?)**

The sun was high in the sky when Ariel finally calmed herself down. She couldn't imagine life without Scarlett. She also knew that the longer her sister stayed in her koma, the smaller her chance of ever recovering from it. Ariel recalled hearing Scarlett scream, then running to the window, and watching her falling, tumbling through air, terror on her face, then hitting the ground, and lying crumpled, dreadfully still, and being unable to help. Then she remembered Scarlett teaching herself how to fence, reading from "_**How to… Go from Frog to Prince in Ten**_ _**Easy Steps**_!". Scarlett and Ysabella tying their hair to a tree, and then using it as a swing. Scarlett learning how to compose better poetry. Flying above the valley on Kyyneleet, singing a wordless duet. Deciding to make a bowl out of clay, and getting completely coated with the stuff. Becoming exasperated by Ysa's slow sewing, and finishing it herself with quick, neat stitches. Exploring the mountain in the rain, and returning completely coated from head to toe in mud. Laughing as she discovered she could speak to birds. Asking if they could have a pet, her face filled with hope (sadly, the answer had been a very firm no). Singing with Mother the night before they had escaped the palace. Learning how to ride. Playing tag with their friends Lavria and Sofia.

Ariel gave a start and pulled out of recollections. She had gone for almost four years without even thinking of her friends. When they had fled the palace, she had only been concerned with her petty distrust of Auntie Thela, and parent's death. She had barely spared a thought for the friends she had left behind. She hadn't worried whether they were still alive. She was truly a despicable person. She had spent four years in a little paradise, sheltered from the horrors of the world, while her parents lay dead and rotting, her friends' fate was unknown, and, from the news Aunt Thela brought back, the country had been thrown into chaos and anarchy. Now that her sister was gone to her as well, staying in her little vale lost its charm. How could she stay here knowing that her sister might never awake, her parents were dead, and she was clueless to the fate of her friends? She had to leave.

That decided, Ariel began to pack her things. She packed three changes of clothes, matches, and some thin, waterproofed cloth for a tent. She thought for a second, then brought her sapphire-dart pendant. If worst came to worst, she could sell it. Jewelry weapons would probably be worth a lot in the current climate. She walked up to the kitchen to pack some food, then realized she hadn't eaten or slept at all that day. She should rest up for a while before she left. She also had to ask Ysabella if she wanted to come as well. Ariel sighed, then started to make lunch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Thela watched the girls leave. She hoped that she had taught them enough to survive. After the former king and queen had been overthrown, anarchy had overtaken the country, every village forming their own community, distrustful of all outsiders. Bandits and raiders roamed the countryside, stealing grain, food, and money. The rebel government was too weak to oppose them, so they instead taxed the thieves, trying to get enough money to guard the main city, and create a small, elite army of assassins to pick off all they saw as a threat, and to give a warning to others who might have set themselves against the government. If anyone in the rebel government learned who they were, they would be dead in seconds. When she had kidnapped them, it had been for mere family tradition. However, it had saved the girls' lives.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Since Scarlett's fall, Ariel had noticed a definite change in Ysabella. Her eyes, usually alight with laughter, were now dark, and driven. She seemed, even to Ariel, slightly frightening. As they walked through the beautiful trees, the morning light spilling over them, faint shadows flowing into dappled green light, an almost mocking contrast to their grief, Ysabella spoke, for maybe the third time since they had decided to leave.

Her voice was low, a fierce, angry tone in every syllable, "No one should ever have to go through this. No one should ever have to lose any one in their family." quieter, she added, "Much less a twin."

A chill ran through Ariel as she realized just how much both of them, especially Ysabella had changed since they had first gone this way, as three, happy, content, if slightly spoiled children, four years before. They had lost both parents, a home, and a sister. But Ariel wondered if she had not only lost one sister in Scarlett's fall, but both.

**Reviews are love!**

**Question of the week:**

**Is Dumbledore Santa Claus?**


	6. Caught in Dreams

**(Hides from readers behind desk) **

**Hermione: You haven't updated!**

**Sparkly Lethifold: I'm sorry! **

**Hermione: Why didn't you?**

**Sparkly Lethifold: I had to study for midterms, so I didn't fail!**

**Hermione:…**

**Hermione: Well, fine then. Just don't let it happen again.**

**Sparkly Lethifold: (mutters under breath) Believe me, I won't.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. Do I look like JKR?**

The sun set, and darkness closed in around them, but Ysabella didn't care. She no longer cared about anything. All she felt was the emptiness where Scarlett should be, and the hollowness in her heart. What was the point to life, anyways? For years, Scarlett had supplied purpose, happiness, and love to her. But now, that was all gone. Scarlett would probably die, and, even if she didn't, she would never be the same. Either way Scarlett was gone forever. And without her twin, there was nothing.

She walked on, through the cool night, to anywhere but the valley. She just didn't care. Maybe there was something to going from town to town as a traveling musician. Or healer. Or scribe.

She came out of her morose fantasies and noticed that Ariel speaking, "…probably should stop for the night soon. I brought fabric for a tent, so that shouldn't be a problem. Actually, we might as well stop here. It's probably as good a place as any."

Ysabella nodded, and took off her pack. She got out some of the bread and cheese. Ariel took the waterproofed fabric, and began to fashion a tent using their walking sticks and string. They went inside, and ate their supper cold, both still in shock.

Ysabella surrendered to sleep quickly, and fell into vivid nightmares just as rapidly. She dreamed that she was falling, plummeting through the air. The wind whistled through her ears, and whipped her face with her hair. She opened her mouth to scream, but she couldn't. She hit the ground, and was in a different dream, in her old home, being chased by a dragon. She ran through the palace, but it was no longer the bright cheery place it had been in her childhood. Now it was deserted, silent, dark, and grim, all the torches extinguished, roofs caved in, walls collapsed, corridors blocked with rubble. She ran, trying to escape, but the more she ran, the more lost she became, the familiar halls transformed into a terrifying labyrinth, the dragon's breath and heavy tread growing ever closer. The dream changed again, and now she was sitting in her mother's lap, singing with her, like the last time she had ever seen her, their last happy moment together. However, this time, soldiers poured into the room, and cut off her mother's head, and extinguishing the loving light in her eyes, and ignoring Ysabella as blood coated her and she started to scream.

She woke up in a cold sweat, still smelling the coppery tang of blood. She felt her face, hoping that the warm stickiness of her mother's blood wasn't there. The dream had been terrifyingly realistic, and had scared her deeply. She had only managed to get through her parents' deaths because of Scarlett, and pushing the pain away, not confronting it. She wondered if that augmented her pain now that Scarlett was gone as well. She stayed awake the rest of the night, dearly wanting sleep, but not daring to. As the sun broke over the horizon, Ariel awoke. Ysabella took out a pair of biscuits for breakfast, and waited for Ariel to lose her air of grogginess. It took several minutes, but eventually Ariel was awake enough to gulp down her breakfast. Reinvigorated by the meal, Ariel began to speak in her cheer-Ysa-up voice: determinately and falsely cheerful, full of peppy eagerness. But she could tell that, behind her overly cheery façade, Ariel felt just as empty as she did. She realized that her sister wouldn't be able to recover until Ariel could no longer sense Ysa's pain

"… I was thinking that we could look for a cure for Scarlett. Or, maybe we should start by looking for Lavria and Sofia. We've been fairly safe for years, but they've been at the mercy of the rebels. I wonder what happened to them." she glanced at Ysa's dubious expression, and then offered wearily, "or we could just wander around the countryside aimlessly, doing absolutely nothing productive."

Ysabella sighed. "Let's just go with wandering aimlessly around the countryside. Maybe get a job. Just create a new life for ourselves," she suggested wearily, then added angrily, "What if we did find Lavria or Sofia? Would you be able to cope with all the memories of our old life that would bring? Or what if we found out they were dead? Would you be able to cope with _that_?"

Ariel's face was a mask of shock at Ysa's outburst. Slowly, as she began to pack up the remains of breakfast, it faded into the same sadness that they both felt.

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